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The theory that Tooting are indeed a team of
werewolves gathered momentum as Terrors went for the jugular from the start.
Matt York returned to the midfield, so Jason Pinnock moved out to the
left replacing Kirk Watts.
In the first minute a Billy Marshall effort was palmed over, but almost immediately Paul Vines latched onto a Hartburn cross and
flicked it past Ross for the opening goal. The bombardment
continued and three minutes later Marshall slid the ball to McDonald who slipped it past the keeper for 2-0.
Jason Pinnock was next to have a go, heading a Vines cross over the
bar - still only five minutes gone. Vines decided to use his head for his next couple of attempts, the first powerful but wide and the second straight at Ross. It was left to Aaron Goode to increase the score with an exquisite free kick that sailed into
the top corner. A golden twenty minutes was rounded off by a
low Matt York shot.
Perhaps the moon then hid behind a cloud, either that or Ashford were taking heart from their admirable small yet still vocal band of supporters behind the
goal. The visitors started to come off the ropes with Wellard firing the first warning shot. Even so, the traffic was still mainly one way,
demonstrated by another dangerous Marshall cross that just
failed to attract a finishing touch.
But after half an hour disaster struck. Indecision at the back, topped off
with a dreadful back pass let in Byron Harris for a gift of a goal.
Despite this setback Terrors continued to push
forward, although Ross was not tested as a number of
attempts went the wrong side of the crossbar. McDonald headed over
from a McLeod cross and Billy Marshall latched onto
one from Vines. Marshall returned the favour with a through ball that Vines similarly blasted into the stand.
Half Time: Terrors 3-1 Ashford
The Marshall/Vines combination was soon up and running again with Paul latching onto a cross with a fine header that was well saved by Ross. Pinnock,
whose shooting boots are still on the wrong feet then
cleared the roof of the stand.
Ashford managed to put together a few dangerous breaks, with
Harris and Harrison both looking fast and elusive. One such raid was rewarded with a penalty for handball which gave Harris (B) his second of the night.
After that the game degenerated and the final half hour was a scrappy affair with Terrors
attacks reduced to chasing long balls and neither side creating any quality moves or
managing to retain possession for long. Ashford brought on a
pair of wingers for the final ten minutes, but they made little impact and there was to be no silver bullet!
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